Delta Apologizes for Ordering Disabled Woman Off Flight

Delta Air Lines has apologized for ordering a woman with muscular dystrophy off a plane earlier this month because compliance manuals were out of date.

The Star Tribune newspaper reports Carrie Salberg, 33, was traveling with her usual 100 pounds of medical equipment when she boarded a flight in New Orleans to return home to the Twin Cities on January 13. Salberg had the equipment approved by the airline a month before the flight and had a compliance letter from the manufacturer in hand.

But since compliance manuals on the plane were out of date and Salberg is using new equiment, the flight crew ordered her off the plane.

"It was humiliating, it was upsetting, it was embarrassing," Salberg tells the news outlet. "We just did what we were told. We didn't really have much of a choice."

Salberg and her two traveling companions were put on a flight to Atlanta that connected to Minneapolis, delaying their arrival by about five hours. Since Salberg is unable to use a public restroom, she was unable to drink anything during the wait.

"It's a lot of work and a lot of planning and getting on and off the plane is pretty much the worst part of a trip," says Salberg.

After filing a complaint with Delta two weeks ago, the airline sent her a written apology, refunded her ticket and those of her group, and gave her additional vouchers totaling $900.